Thumbs up and thumbs down for the City of Nice

thestar.com

Well, I'm happy to report that the pile of dead rats got carted away two days after I posted about them and now even the gross pile of throw-away-household items full of baby beds and potty chairs..... making the neighborhood into a virtual dumpsite..... have been hauled away by the city as well....  This even in the high season when lots of services are put on hold. 

If they are private services like plumbing and electricity you can be landed with a bill that is doubled if you call in August.  So thumbs up to the city of Nice for taking care of the pick-up of the "offal" and the awful.  

Yes, there really is a very organized service for garbage collection here in Nice.  If you ever were to visit the "dechetterie" ( the dump) in West Nice you will see how organized and orderly it is.  There are huge semi trailer beds with rubble , rocks and tiles , plant matter, organic matter , plastic etc.  and each carload is inspected before they let one dump it in the bins.  

elusrhonealpes.fr

Trash pick up in our neighborhood is every night except for Saturday with Wednesday's reserved for a modest re-cycling effort  of cardboard, stiff plastic, and cans. 

 You have to take the glass down to the big bins in the town, though.  They don't pick that up at your door.  But thumbs up for the reliable and efficient service of the trash pick up.  Our garbage collectors even speak English.  They probably have Ph.d's and are just filling in while they find jobs as chemistry wizards.  

But I heard another story this week that comes out of the local newspaper: Nice Matin that I didn't agree with.  I understand ( from good authority, I spent a half hour looking for the article) that the piece is "taking the piss out" of the low budget tourists who are making Nice their holiday destination.

  The writers of the article don't "get" that a lot of these tourists come from countries where customer service is valued.  They site a man and his wife and three small children coming into a bar for the wife to use the toilet.  The man pays for a beer and asks for water for the children.  "Vittel monsieur?"  "No, just tap water is fine."   The bar keeper is annoyed that the tourists are so cheap.  

operationhappilyeverafter. blogspot

Well, I have no sympathy for the barkeeper.  There are practically zero toilet facilities in the city besides a bar or restaurant.  The only two I know of are Galleries Lafayette and Nice Etoile and one pays 50 centimes a person to use the restrooms there.  The same with the few public toilets run by the city.  (Most of the creepy machine toilets are out of service now.  Maybe FNAC still has a free toilet but lets keep that a secret.)   This is as shameful for a tourist town as not running a regular night bus service.  So thumbs down for the city for this one too.    If you want to attract tourists,  make it at least possible for them to pee!!

One more story from the article:  An ice cream shop gives out 4 "sample tastes" to a family before he makes the snarky comment that he also "sells" ice cream and they have to now make up their minds.   The family leaves without buying and he is angry.

  I am willing to bet they felt insulted by the way the man handled the situation and so went elsewhere for their ice cream.    An amusing but positive attitude can always win the day, but that has to be valued in a culture.   Thumbs down, sorry , thumbs down again.